The Phoenix
by cat-gibbylover
Summary: The women in the Dumbledore line are cursed with immense power, the story of what really happened when Ariana died and her brother's desperate attempts to cover it up. But when her great-granddaughter escapes his grasp and refuses to live the life of a prisoner how far will he go to cover up his family's dark past.
1. Ariana

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, obviously.  
So this is my first HP fanfic, I usually write for the Hunger Games but I decided to do something different. This chapter will have heaps in it because it's all background information so sorry if it seems crammed or not to detailed.**

She stood in the backyard her blonde hair trailing behind her in the wind, it was light outside and the clouds drifted across the sky above her head. She knelt to the ground and plucked a flower from the ground and the petals danced across her hand, opening and closing in her palm. She held it out in front of her letting it float in front of her face, the petals still in their intricate dance.  
'How are you doing that?' Her eyes grew wide and the flower dropped to the floor as she noticed the group of boys standing on the other side of the fence in the street. 'You heard me, how did you do that.'

She spun on her heel and tried to run inside but the boys jumped the fence and grabbed her by the arm spinning her around and bringing her face inches from his.  
'Show me.' She shook her head, tears coming to her eyes. He shook her arm, 'SHOW ME!' She winced as he gripped her arm tightly, twisting it harshly and sending pain shooting through it. He shoved her to the ground and she tried to make the flower in front of her move, she used all her will power but it wouldn't work.  
'I can't.' She whispered, the boy kicked her in the side and she fell over wincing. She turned to the flower again and the tears streamed down her cheeks. 'I... I... can't'  
'We saw you, you freak. Now SHOW US!'

The fear and pain boiled up inside her, her bright, blue eyes began to shine transforming into balls of pure light. She rose to her feet, the wind whipping around her and the sky turning dark and the earth around them going still. She rose into the air and burst into a brilliant ball of light.

* * *

It was night when her father found her lying in the yard unconscious, her blue eyes back to normal. The boys lay beside her too frightened to move, they were muttering to themselves, rocking back and forth scared out of their minds.  
'Oh Ariana, what did you do?' He scooped her up in his arms and carried her inside. He went back later for the boys, making sure they would never talk about what they'd seen. He knew his daughter was dangerous, he knew what had happened was a result of the curse; he had to keep them quiet no matter what the cost was to himself.

Ariana sat staring out the window of her new house in Godric's Hollow playing with the hem of her blue skirt.  
'Get away from the window; do you want someone to see you?' Her mother rushed in and grabbed her by the arm pulling her further into the house.  
'But Mum, I want to go outside.' She fought against her mother in an attempt to get back to the window.  
'You remember what happened last time, your father isn't here anymore to take the blame for you and I am not letting you risk the lives of anyone else in this family. Do you hear me?' Ariana yanked her arm out of her mother's grasp and glared at her, she could feel the anger boiling up inside of her and she knew she had to keep in control of her emotions or something bad would happen.  
'It's okay, I'm here. It's okay.' Aberforth's hand slipped into hers and he squeezed it tightly, it was only then did she notice that she was floating above the ground. Her mother had backed away from her, fear written across her face. Aberforth scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the room, glaring at their mother as he did so.

* * *

He set her down on the bed and knelt down in front of her. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and his blue eyes met hers.  
'You have to be more careful, something bad could happen.' She nodded and tears ran down her cheeks, he sighed and pulled her into his arms. She curled up against his chest and began to sob.  
'I h...hate this curse. I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to be normal.'  
'It isn't a curse, it's a gift. You have more magic than any of us combined.'  
'Even Albus,' She sniffed and he nodded,  
'Even Albus.'

* * *

Ariana snuck out the back door when her mother was in the bathroom, she needed to feel the earth beneath her feet. She lay under the stars and listened to wind whistle through the trees, it had been almost a month since Aberforth had left for school and she missed him dearly. Her mother made her so mad sometimes and without him she couldn't control it, he was her guardian and went she went nuclear he was the only one that could stop her from killing someone.  
'WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? GET INSIDE NOW BEFORE SOMEONE SEES!' Ariana sat bolt upright and spun around, her mother was standing at the door wrapped in a towel with a frantic look in her eyes.  
'Why don't you make me?' She got to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. 'Five minutes isn't going to hurt anyone.'  
'Why don't you ask your father that? Oh wait that's right, you got him thrown in Azkaban!' She hissed and lunged pulling her inside the house by her hair. Ariana kicked and screamed and bit down hard at her mother's flesh in an attempt to free herself. Her mother threw her to the floor and bolted the door behind her.  
'I have given up everything for you and you don't even care you ungrateful little...' She backed against the wall in shock as Ariana began to glow with a bright, blue light, the house began to shake and Mrs. Dumbledore clamped her hands to her ears as her daughter began to scream at the top of her lungs. She fell to the floor and backed into the corner cowering in fear. She watched as her daughter exploded with pure magic, more powerful than anything in existence and her soul burned from the inside out.

* * *

'What did you do?' Ariana's eyes flickered open and she saw the fuzzy outline of her brother standing over her. He grabbed her hands and tossed her over his shoulder and fled from the house. She was dizzy and felt sick to her stomach, spots danced in front of her eyes and her skin felt like it was on fire, she blacked out again as Albus carried her into the night. When she woke up she was wrapped in blankets in a small bedroom she had never seen before, her brother was hunched over in the corner muttering to himself. She sat up slowly still feeling rather dizzy.  
'Albus? What happened?' He looked up with so much sadness and hatred on his face.  
'You killed her, you got angry and you killed her.'  
'I... I don't mean to. I promise.' He shook his head and glared at her.  
'You could have tried to control it, no one else was ever this bad. It's all your fault, you killed her and all she ever did was try to protect you.'  
'SHE KEPT ME PRISONER!'  
'FOR YOUR OWN GOOD! IF SHE HADN'T THINK OF ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT COULD'VE DIED BECAUSE YOU GOT A LITTLE BIT CRANKY!' He stormed from the room and Ariana sank back down into the covers and sobbed her self to sleep.

* * *

_100 years before the birth of Ariana Dumbledore her ancestor managed to insult the wrong person. Ezra Zelladean was had a happy life, she was engaged to the love of her life and everything was going her way. Her fiancé Thomas was the lord's son and considered the most handsome man in town, everyone wanted him but he only had eyes for Ezra. Or so she thought._

_One day when Ezra went to visit Thomas to discuss matters for their wedding, when she opened the door to his bedroom she found him locked in the embrace of Glinda Dumbledore. Ezra was enraged and fled from the house, she returned home and began to plot her revenge. She was well trained in the dark arts but kept her powers secret in order to keep up appearances. It was in her rage that she cast a spell upon the female line of the Dumbledore family, they would be blessed with great power, power beyond any seen before in any lifetime. But that power would come at a cost, the bearer would be beyond control, filled with the rage that Ezra bore so that they would always feel her pain. In this rage their power would be unleashed in a frenzy of magic, that would soon become known as the phoenix and no one would ever be safe. The curse would be passed down through death to the next female member of the Dumbledore line. No child would live to be beyond the age of 17 and would all fall to a gruesome death._

_The legend of the phoenix was passed down through generations in the wizarding world but no one knew the truth. They resurfaced whenever there was a particularly strange death, that was the result of immense magical power. Rumours spread of a person will the power to control the phoenix, someone they loved with their whole heart with the ability to anchor them to the mortal world and bring them back._

Aberforth was hers.

* * *

Albus kept Ariana hidden as best he could the next few years in order to protect the rest of the world from her powers. He refused to let Aberforth stay home with his sister even though he knew he was the only one capable of controlling her when she was enraged. She was a lot calmer after their mother's death from fear that she would do something even worse. There was only one upside to having Albus home all the time and that was his new friend Grindelwald, Ariana was forbidden from leaving her room but she would sneak into the passage and watch him through the crack in the door. She loved everything about him, the way his hair fell over his face, his smile, his laugh, his muscles, she could watch him all day.

One day she was sitting up in her room reading one of Albus' old textbooks when her door flung open and he walked in, his hair falling into his eyes, his shirt untucked with the sleeves rolled up showing off his muscular arms. She fell backwards off the bed and landed hard on the floor dazed.  
'Oh I'm so sorry, I thought this was the bathroom. Never mind. Umm I..' He stopped short as she rose to her feet his eyes connecting with that starling blue, he blushed and spun around so fast he hit his head on the door frame. Clutching at the bump he stumbled out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

It was a week before she saw him again, she hid behind a cabinet in the kitchen and watched him and Albus make their plans. She never really paid attention to what they were saying, only the way his brow crinkled when he concentrated or the way he bit his lip when he was stuck on an idea. Albus left the room for a second to get something and in a flash Grindelwald was leaning against the cabinet, his eyes boring into his.  
'So do you live here or do you just hide in the ceiling and spy on people when they think you're not looking?'  
'Ummm... I... I'm Ariana' She shoved her hand out towards him and he took it grinning, he brushed his soft lips against her skin and sent chills up her spine.  
'Gellert Grindelwald, and you didn't answer my question.' She blushed bright red and bit her lip.  
'I'm Albus' sister.' He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.  
'Really because he's never mentioned you.'  
'I'm not supposed to talk to people, he thinks I'm bad luck.' He flashed her a smile which just made her blush even more.  
'Well from where I stand you look pretty lucky to me, not to mention beautiful.'

* * *

They snuck around behind Albus' back for the next few months, his ability to apparate made it easier for him to sneak in and out of the house, it all turned south on that fateful summers day. She lay in bed with her head on Grindelwald's chest, he played with her hair and she rested her chin on his chest in order to look at her love better.  
'I have to tell you something.' She stared at him and he cupped her face in his hands and brought it closer to his.  
'What is it beautiful? You know you can tell me anything.' She pulled her face away from his and avoided eye contact,  
'I think I'm pregnant.' She whispered, she waited a moment before sneaking a glance at his face. It was completely blank and she had no way of telling what he was thinking. It seemed like forever before a smile played across his lips and he drew her closer, squeezing her tightly.  
'That's amazing.'  
'But what about Albus, I heard him talking the other day to Aberforth in the fireplace. He wants to get rid of the phoenix by making sure that I'm the last girl ever born. he's vowed never to have kids and he doesn't think I'll ever have any because I never talk to anyone and he told Aberforth that he wasn't allowed to have kids otherwise he would make bad things happen.'  
'Don't worry my love, no one will ever hurt you.' He leant down and kissed her lips,

* * *

She wore only baggy clothes for the next 9 months, on April the 25th 1899 she gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl in secret, her love standing by her the entire time. She only had enough time to hold the child for a second before her brother charged into the room.  
'WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS NOISE ARIA...!' His face went from anger to shock in the space of a second. He saw the baby in his sister's arms and his friend standing with his arm around her waist. 'What did you do?' His voice was dripping with anger, Aberforth ran into the room and saw the scene before him and froze with shock. Albus walked slowly towards Grindelwald drawing his wand. 'You have no idea what you just did, that thing is dangerous.' He pointed towards Ariana and her baby, Grindelwald stepped in between them and towered over Albus.  
'That is the love of my life, she is not a thing. And that is my child, they aren't dangerous so back off.' He drew his wand and Aberforth tried to force himself between the two. Albus shoved him to the side and reeled back the words passing his lips,  
'Avada...' She ran at full speed and shoved Grindelwald out of the way, the spell hitting her squarely in the chest. She fell backwards in an arch, Grindelwald caught her before she hit the floor and fell to his knees grasping her lifeless body.  
'YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER YOU MONSTER!'  
'I did no such thing, it was you. Aberforth saw the whole thing, you came in here and threatened me and my sister just happened to get in the way. you're the one who killed her not me. Right brother?' He looked over at his brother who's eyes were filled with tears, he gulped and nodded.  
'Now I suggest you leave before I tell the Ministry what you did.' He walked over to the small child on the bed and scooped it up in his arms. 'I will make sure you are the last of our line, after you there will be no more. I will call you Kendra after my mother, as a reminder of the sacrifice she made so you could live.'

**So this chapter is pretty much an intro about Ariana, then the next one will be about her daughter and her grand daughter but the rest of the story is going to be about her great grand-daughter. Hope you enjoy it!**


	2. Rose

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, obviously.  
**

Albus soon found that the task of caring of the newborn girls would not be an easy one; they were all as pigheaded and free spirited as his sister had been. Kendra slipped out of his grasp the day the milkman came over to deliver the bottles. Albus wasn't home and she slipped quietly down the stairs to answer the door. On June 5th 1915 she gave birth to a blonde haired, blue eyed daughter named Julienna and died in childbirth. He tried harder with Julienna adding padlocks to all the doors as well as deadbolts but when she was 17 she managed to apparate into the back garden where she met the next door neighbour. So in 1932 she gave birth to her own daughter and days later flew into a rage at Albus and blowing up in blinding light so out of control her power consumed her.

* * *

The next child's name was Cadence; she was small and fragile and became very ill. Her brother made the mistake of taking her to St. Mungos when she was 16 where she fell deeply in love with her male healer. In 1949, their child Henrietta was born. Cadence died when the love of her life ran off with another, she was so distraught she took her own life than dare to live without him. Henrietta was a smart girl and on her 13th birthday she picked the locks trapping her in the house with a bobby pin. She met a man named Jonathon two towns over and when she was 16 they wed and 9 months later she gave birth to a girl whom she named Rose. Albus managed to track her down a few months later and dragged her and the child home kicking and screaming, Jonathon followed them home and threatened Albus with a shot gun not knowing the powers the family held. Using magic he knocked the gun aside but it was accidentally triggered killing Henrietta. He erased Jonathon's memories and returned him to his home town with no recollection of his wife or child. Every year one of them died Albus and his brother Aberforth became more and more distant, he did not like the fact that the children were locked up but he knew it was for their own safety but he still didn't think it was fair. The two brothers fought and Aberforth stopped visiting the house choosing to lock himself away in his pub where he could no longer be reminded of his brother's prisoners.

* * *

Rose was by far the prettiest of the children, her eyes shone and her cheeks glowed with beauty and Albus was becoming more and more angry when it came to his sister's descendants. He locked Rose in a cellar with no windows and only a trapdoor in the ceiling. He coated the house with anti-magic spells and bolted every door shut. He had now been teaching at Hogwarts for many years and had recently been given the job of headmaster. To take care of the child he enlisted the help of a house elf named Hugo. Rose tried her best everyday to trick the elf into letting her leave but he stuck by his orders and only gave her food and water three times a day. Albus was determined to weed out the curse, to make sure no one got hurt again.

What he didn't count on was a man named Sirius Black. When Sirius was 20 he went to visit his friend James Potter who lived across the road from the Dumbledore's. On his way home he saw the house elf through the window muttering to himself about a crazy girl in the basement, knowing that at the current time Dumbledore was at school he wondered why he would have left his house elf behind. He walked over to the house and knocked on the door, the house elf answered and glared at the tall, good looking man.  
'What do you want, no visitors allowed.' He croaked at Sirius,  
'But I'm not a visitor, I was sent here by Dumbledore to check on the girl. You know the one in the basement.' The house elf looked at him suspiciously but at the same time knew that if he knew about the girl there was truth to his story which is exactly why Sirius mentioned it.  
'Alright.' Hugo led Sirius into the kitchen and refiled through the draws producing a looking glass which he handed to Sirius. Sirius wondered what it had to do with whatever was going on in the house and leapt back when all of a sudden a girl's face appeared where his reflection used to be.  
'Who are you, where's Uncle Albus?' Sirius was blown away by the girl's beauty, and it took him a while to form a proper sentence.  
'I'm Sirius; I heard about a girl in the basement and was curious. So here I am.' He whispered the last part after the elf left the room, making sure that he did not know he was being tricked. 'Who are you and what are you doing here?'  
'I'm Rose Dumbledore. I live here, or more like I'm a prisoner here. Uncle Dumbledore thinks I'm dangerous because of this stupid old curse so he locked me in the basement so I can't hurt anyone.' A look of sadness crossed her face and it nearly broke Sirius' heart to see someone so beautiful so upset.  
'How could you possibly hurt anyone? And how can Dumbledore be your Uncle he's like 500 years old.' She rolled her dazzling blue eyes at him.  
'I'm actually his great-great-great-niece and I'm down here because I'm a phoenix.'  
'The insane killer with powerful magic kind or the colourful never dying bird kind.' She laughed and rolled her eyes at him again.  
'Do I look like a bird to you?' He shrugged and shook his head laughing. 'My whole family line has been phoenixes and now I'm one which is annoying but watcha going to do? Apparently my Uncle's sister killed her own mother when she went out of control and her daughter ended up killing herself the same way. He's trying to keep me from killing anyone.' She sighed and slumped down on the floor. Sirius was about to say something but then Hugo burst in the room and started to shoo him out.  
'It's been enough time, the child is okay. Hugo takes excellent care of Mistress Rose. Time to leave now.' Sirius slipped the mirror in his pocket when the elf wasn't looking and followed him out of the door.

Later that night he pulled it out and sat staring at the glass until her picture appeared. She didn't notice he was there and was painting a picture in the corner of the room, on that looked suspiciously like him.  
'Am I really that handsome that you can't get me out of your head?' Rose jumped a mile and the brush flew out of her hand and went flinging across the room. She ran to the mirror and picked it up looking frantic.  
'What are you doing? You scared me half to death.'  
'You didn't answer my question, am I really that handsome?' She shook her head laughing.  
'You're the only new thing I've seen in years, I've only ever had myself and that stupid house elf to paint and after a while that gets boring.' They talked for the whole night and every day after that for the next year and Sirius soon found himself falling in love. One night they were talking as normally and he decided to ask the question that has been playing in his mind since he had first met her.  
'When will I ever get to see you for real?' She sighed and shook her head.  
'When you can find a way past all these defences without alerting my Uncle to the fact that you're here.'  
'So it's impossible.' She nodded her head sadly but it brought a grin to Sirius' face.  
'I live for the impossible.'

The next night he snuck down to the Dumbledore household equipped with his magical knife and his best friend James' invisibility coat. His knife could open any door or any lock as long as it was non-magical. He slid the knife down the length of the front door praying of the best and slowly but surely the door swung open. He crept through the house invisible looking for the door to the basement, he was about to give up after searching through every door in the house until he tripped on the edge of the rug in the living room exposing the hidden door beneath. He pried the door open, cursing at the large, creaking noise he made when he propped it open but nothing happened so he continued until it was open wide enough for him to fit. He noticed there was no ladder leading down into the darkness as probably another way of keeping the girl trapped inside. He left the living room and searched the whole house eventually finding a rope ladder concealed in a cupboard under the stairs.

He dropped down into the room and saw Rose sleeping in a bed in the corner, he knelt beside her and brushed the hair from her face realising she was so much more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. She stirred and looked up into his grey eyes and gasped.  
'Sirius?' She whispered, he nodded and she flung her arms around his neck pulling him in tightly towards her. 'How did you get here?'  
'I told you, I live for the impossible.' She smiled and he tucked her hair behind her ears and cupped her face in his hands.  
'You're even more beautiful in person.' She blushed and tilted her head away unable to meet his eyes. He lifted her head towards his and gazed into the deep blue and placed a soft kiss upon her lips. She gasped surprised but then pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his wrapping her arms around his neck, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him laying her down on the bed.

* * *

Sirius was worried because he knew the school holidays were coming up and Dumbledore was soon to return home. Sirius had been sneaking into the Dumbledore house for nearly 6 months now and Rose had grown so big. She was pregnant and Sirius was afraid of what Dumbledore would do when he found out, Rose had told him all the stories of her family and how the women were treated and died shortly after the birth of their child as to pass the power of the phoenix on to them. He spent every night with her, sneaking her in whatever she happened to be craving that day under the nose of her house elf. The day before school ended he snuck the enchanted mirror back into the drawer; Rose told him that her Uncle never came down stairs because he thought she would escape so he used the mirror to make sure she was still in her room. He was thankful for this because this way they could buy some time before he discovered their child.

He told no one of his relationship with Rose, not even James who's wife was also pregnant but was a few months behind Rose. James often questioned where his friend went to in the middle of the night as he was always tired and seemed distracted most days. When Dumbledore had been home for a few months and the child was due to be born Sirius decided to ask his friend for help.  
'James I need to talk to you.'  
'Is it about what you've been doing in secret for the past few years?' Sirius' eyes widen in surprise and stared with his mouth hanging open at his friend.  
'H... How?'  
'I've known you for years Sirius; I know when something's bothering you. You've been off for a long time now. What's wrong?' Sirius sighed and told James the story of Rose and how she was hidden in her Uncle's basement and how he had fallen in love and now she was pregnant but he didn't tell him who she was or that it was Dumbledore who was hiding her just that he was a powerful wizard, James sat there listening to his friend's strange story and managed to come up with a plan.  
'Tomorrow night I'll set off a distraction the needs the attention of all the most powerful wizards at the Ministry. While he's distracted sneak in and take your girl to the train station, I'll have Lily waiting there for you. Board a train and you can go and stay in one of the safe houses we've created for protection from You Know Who. You'll be safe there I promise, tell no one which one you're going to not even me, no one can know where you're hiding.'

That night Sirius lay in wait outside the Dumbledore residence covered in James' invisibility cloak clutching his knife. An hour later he saw Dumbledore run into the yard frantically before apparating, James' plan was working. He was going to alert everyone to an appearance of You Know Who in the Ministry, a jailable offence but James would do anything for Sirius. When he was gone Sirius snuck into the house, Rose was sitting on her bed sobbing she stopped when he pulled the cloak off of his head.  
'Sirius, oh god I was so worried!' She ran into his arms and he hugged her as best he could with her bump separating him.  
'We're leaving tonight sweetheart. Grab your stuff.' She hurried to grab her stuff but proved difficult in her condition. 'Here let me help you.' He began shoving clothes in a bag he brought along with him. He helped her into a large woollen coat and her shoes. He helped her to climb up the rope ladder and covered the two of them in the cloak when they reached the landing. He took her outside into the night and she gasped at the coldness of the night air.  
'Everything's so beautiful Sirius.'  
'It's even prettier in the day time. Come on.' He squeezed her hand and spun on the spot apparating into the train station. Lily was standing by the train with his bags glancing at her watch looking worried. He pulled off the cloak and kept his grip on Rose's hand as they walked over to Lily.  
'Oh thank God Sirius. I thought something went wrong.'  
'No everything's fine, Lily this is Rose.' He gestured to the girl beside him and Lily shook her hand her eyes suddenly full of sadness.  
'You're so young.' Rose blushed and looked at the floor not used to meeting new people. Lily glanced at Rose's prominent stomach. 'Do you know what it is?' Rose shook her head and looked at Lily's, Lily smiled. 'Mine's a boy, I'm thinking of calling it Harry.'  
'That's a nice name.' Rose whispered, they didn't have time to say anything else as the train pulled into the station. Lily wrapped her arms around Sirius tears coming to her eyes.  
'Be safe okay. Take care of her.' She tried to hug Rose but they couldn't connect due to their bumps, so she smiled and shook her hand. 'And you take care of him; you guys have a good life.' Sirius helped Rose onto the train and carried their bags in after her. He settled in at the back of the train away from the windows. Rose fell asleep halfway through the train ride and curled up into Sirius who smiled because he knew that they could finally have a normal life.

* * *

Sirius had picked a small cottage to stay in, in a small town in France. Two days after moving in Rose gave birth to a baby girl who she named Michelle, Belle for short, a French name meaning beautiful. Sirius sent James a letter after they arrived telling him that the three of them were safe and happy, James replied congratulating the pair and that he was glad the plan worked.

* * *

One stormy night Rose lay with head on Sirius' chest, Michelle was asleep in the room next door. Sirius was stroking her hair and telling her stories of his days at school, he had just finished the story of how he and his friends had become animagi when there was a large crash outside. Rose sat bolt upright, her eyes frantic, Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back down on the bed.  
'It's just the storm sweetheart, you need to worry less.' She looked at him with so much concern he sighed and got out of bed. 'We're safe here but just to prove it to you I'll go and check.' She smiled and he kissed her on the forehead before walking out of the room clutching his wand. The lights turned on as soon as he stepped into the living room. Dumbledore sat in one of the armchairs facing Sirius his eyebrows raised.  
'I honestly never thought it would be you. How did you manage to steal that child away from me?' Sirius raised his wand and pointed it at his chest.  
'She's mine and she's going to stay with me.' Dumbledore rose to his feet sighing.  
'Did she tell you what she is? How dangerous she is? Her kind are killers, they can't be controlled.'  
'The legend says that all phoenixes have a guardian, someone that can stop them from unleashing their rage.'  
'So she did tell you,' he said as he moved closer. 'My brother Aberforth was my sister's guardian but even he couldn't stop her from killing our mother or herself for that matter. No one can be with them all the time, to constantly make sure that they don't get angry. Anything can set them off. My great niece Julienna got mad because her baby wouldn't stop crying, something as little as that led to her killing herself when her power was unleashed. And besides what makes you think that you're her guardian?'  
'Because she loves me.' Sirius stood his ground against the old man.  
'Because you're the only man she's ever met, because you promised her freedom. It happens with all of them, they run off with the first man they see because they think he can give them everything they've ever wanted. You can't make her happy, she's a free spirit just like my sister, she'll get bored eventually. Always wanting something more. Greedy little monsters.'

Rose leant against the wall listen to their conversation, her eyes filled with tears as he told Sirius all those horrible things about her. She found herself getting angrier and angrier the more he talked, her eyes flashed viciously and the wind began to howl louder as she rose off the floor. She burst into a ball of brilliant light and the house began to shake, the walls began to cave in around them as the floor caught fire.

Dumbledore's eyes widen in shock as the house began to crumble, He grabbed Sirius and pulled him out of the house. Sirius fought against him trying to get to Rose and Michelle but it was too late, he stood on the lawn as the house crumpled and became a flattened heap. When the house stopped shaking he ran over to the rubble and dug until his fingers bled. He pulled her broken body from the wreckage and hugged her to his chest. Dumbledore stood over the scene and shook his head.  
'This is the way it was meant to be Sirius, I tried to warn you. Phoenixes don't live long after their children are born. I'm sorry for your loss.' Sirius stood and faced him,  
'This is all your fault, if you hadn't come looking for her she wouldn't have died. IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! THEY'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!' He lunged at Dumbledore but the old man was agile and dodged Sirius.  
'You should get out of here Sirius, I know how to handle these types of situations.' Sirius threw him one last glare before disappearing into the night.

Dumbledore was just about to set to work when he heard cries in the distant. He knelt down and shifted through the rubble and found the small child hidden in a crevice unharmed from the blast.  
'Just when I thought it was over, another one appears.'

**Okay so another background chapter, the next one will be the start of the proper story line and will be told from Michelle's point of view and will follow her for the the rest of the time. Please review and favourite, it means a lot and will keep me motivated to continue writing.**


	3. Michelle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, obviously.  
**

I sat at the edge of bed looking out into the horizon. I could see the outline of the castle in the distance and sighed, it looked so beautiful especially at night. I remembered the words of my Uncle,  
_'Michelle, you must never go to there, the people there wish to kill you. Here is the only place you're safe, they will attack you because you're different.'_  
I walked to the window sill and rested my head against the glass, some days I could hear laughter but I think that's just my imagination. In the mornings I could see owls circling the grounds, a flurry of wings, like an intricate dance in the air, sometimes I wished I could be out amongst it. But I couldn't, they wouldn't be able to accept me, all my life I've been told I was different. It was why they killed my mother. Besides the castle stood still now, school wouldn't start for another month so the castle was abandoned by all except my Uncle and my tutor.

* * *

I sunk down into the covers and fingered the claw marks on the wall beside my bed. Uncle Albus said before I lived here it was used to house a werewolf; it was where they put all the unwanted things. But sometimes I thought maybe good things happened here too, I found initials carved at the base of one of the walls under the title the marauders;  
J.P.  
S.B.  
R.L.  
P.P.  
The S.B. I was convinced was my father, his name was Sirius Black and he was in prison for killing his friend James Potter. It was him, I just knew it. Those letters gave me comfort so that corner soon became my favourite place in the house.

* * *

'Michelle where are you? It's time for your lessons.' I sighed and rolled off the bed and leant against the door frame to face my teacher.  
'Here.'  
'Here what?' I rolled my eyes and sighed.  
'Here, Professor Snape.' He nodded and walked past me into my room; I sighed and spun around following him. 'So what am I learning today sir?' He sat down at the desk and patted the seat next to him, I slumped down beside him and pulled my hair into a ponytail as he opened the first textbook on the pile.  
'Defence Against the Dark Arts first, we're moving on today to Grindylows.' I nodded as he started the lesson. My main lessons were during the holidays seeing as the students were all away and there were no distractions to my teacher.

'Miss Dumbledore, you're not paying attention.' I lifted my head off the desk and stared at him,  
'Yes I was I was thinking about the answer,'  
'Then do tell me what the question was?'  
'Umm... You know... Grindylows... water.' He sighed and shook his head, his greasy hair flying across his face.  
'Can you at least try to pay attention? Now will you please tell me what the physical characteristics of a Grindylow are?' I leant back in my chair and sighed.  
'They have sharp, green teeth and...' The book in front of me snapped shut and Snape glared at me.  
'Without reading,' I groaned and he stared me down,  
'Umm... pointy horns... scales... tentacles and umm... umm... Wait don't tell me I know this... umm... long fingers to strangle their prey?  
'Correct but next time pay attention.'  
'How's the lesson going?' I turned in my chair and saw my Uncle standing in the door way beaming down at us.  
'She has yet to grasp basic third year knowledge, I'm sure she will improve... with time.' He sneered at me and gave me a look that obviously meant I can't believe I'm teaching this idiot. I sighed again and rested my head on the desk.  
'Severus, I'm sure she is exceeding all expectations.' Ugh, I knew what that meant; I was a stupid monster whose only purpose was killing. He made that clear whenever he talked to me, even if he didn't say it openly. 'Carry on.' With that he turned and left the room leaving me alone with my nightmare.

* * *

I heard a loud thump downstairs and sat bolt upright in bed, something was moving downstairs. I grabbed for my wand but remembered that Snape only allowed me to have it during lessons and cursed. I crept out the door and picked up a large stick that had fallen through one of the windows. I snuck down the stairs and saw a greasy, skinny man making a fire in one of the rooms. He was hunched over and dirty, he smelled disgusting. Without warning I jumped out and struck him over the head, he fell forwards unconscious and I turned him over with the branch. I recognised his face immediately,  
'Father?'


	4. The Knight Bus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, obviously.  
**

I dragged his body upstairs and set him down on my bed. He was still alive I was pretty sure but what he was doing here I had no clue. His picture was hanging above my bed, I had ripped it from a newspaper years ago, he was skinnier and a lot dirtier than the picture but the bone structure was the same, as an artist I could tell. I had sketched the face from picture thousands of times but I never thought I would actually see it in real life. I sat there watching him as he lay there on the covers, I thought about getting my Uncle but I knew from the way he was sneaking around he didn't want to be found.

I walked back to his campsite and collected his stuff so he would know where it was when he woke, a piece of paper fluttered from his jacket. It was a letter written in neat cursive writing, I was about to put it back when I notice my name mention halfway through;

_Dear Padfoot,_

_I am glad to hear that you and Rose are now safe from harm. I hope that now you're life can continue without threat against her life. Lily says she is a very sweet girl but quite shy and seems very keen on you. You lucky thing. Did you ever think when we were at school together we would end up with the women of our dreams, and it took you a lot less time to convince yours than it took me to hook Evans._

_Michelle, that's a nice name. Did you get to pick or did she take that away from you too. That's married life for you. Lily likes the name Harry, I've convinced her to make his middle name James as proof to the world that I finally convinced her that I was the one. _

_Our plan went off without a hitch, every wizard from far and wide gathered but none of them knew who had sent the alarm so I got off scot free, just like the good old days hey. You never did tell me which one was holding her prisoner but I guess its best that I don't know; I'd probably do something rash. I can't believe anyone would keep someone hostage just because they thought they were a danger. From what I've read phoenixes are lucky, they're a blessing. Tell your girl I said that, she should never be ashamed of who she is. I'll write you again when Harry is born, I'll send you a picture, and my baby is going to be way better looking. I bet you 1000 galleons._

_Prongs._

I stared at the page confused. It was about my mother, someone had kept her hostage, no one seemed to care that she was a phoenix but my Uncle said my father had never known, that he had left us when he found out. That he was so disgusted by what my mother was and what I would be that he left before I was born. I rifled through his pockets and pulled out another page written in the same hand writing dated a week after my birthday.

_Padfoot,_

_Please tell me you're kidding. I can't believe it. How on Earth did he find you? No one knew where you were hiding, not even me. How could he have possibly found out? I'm so sorry Sirius, look you can stay here if you need to, for as long as you like. Lily won't mind, if it was us I'm sure you'd do the same thing._

_Tell me who it was, you have to tell me. If I know I can help you. We can get back at him for what he did to you. He killed your family Padfoot; you don't need to protect him anymore. Rose was his family and he treated her so badly, not her but the rest of them, all of the ones who came before her. He killed them all just because of what his sister did. If everyone else knew than he would be in prison. Look you don't have to decide now but come stay with us, we can talk about it more than._

_Prongs._

I reread the letters over and over again trying to make sense of what I was seeing. My Uncle had lied to me, he was the one who hated me, who was afraid of me, I was never abandoned by my father, and this was all a big lie to get revenge for his mother. All those stories he told, they were lies.

I shoved the letters in my pocket and walked back to my room; as much as I wanted to talk to my father if I was going to get out of here no one could know where I was. If I talked to him and my Uncle found him he might be able to figure out where I was going. I rifled through his pockets looking for anything else I could find, in one of them he had a small key with the letter G printed on it, which I was guessing lead to where his money was stored seeing as I learnt about wizard banking last year. I grabbed my winter coat and pulled it over my shoulders and shoved some clothes in a bag, I swapped my slippers for boots and climbed out the back window landing softly of the grass.

It was an hour's walk into the little town down the street, my Uncle would take me here sometimes to see his brother Aberforth but only when it was dark out and no one could see me. He was always nice to me. His pub was at the end of the street and by the time it got there the sun was just about to rise. I reached under his mat where he hid his key and snuck in as quietly as I could.

The pub was deserted, I tiptoed over to the register and grabbed a few of each type of coin and shoved them into my slowly filling pocket. I heard a thump from upstairs and realised he was awake. At the speed of light I ran out into the street and down the road. Out of nowhere a purple bus thundered past me and slowed to a stop. A skinny, pimple faced man came out the door and stared at me.  
'Need a lift?'  
'H... H... how did you?'  
'Enchanted bus sweetheart, goes wherever it's needed. So do you need a lift or not.' I nodded and he helped me carry my bag onto the bus. The bus was covered in beds scattered everywhere with curtains covering the windows and the only light coming from the candles beside the beds.  
'My name is Stan Shunpike and I'm here to make your experience on the Knight Bus as enjoyable as possible. So where too little lady?' I looked up at him and realised I had no idea where I was going.  
'Ummm... I need to go to a bank.'  
'Gringotts it is then. For thirteen sickles I can get you some hot chocolate, it's too late to buy anything else.' I nodded and removed the coins from my pocket holding my hand out to him, he took the coins he needed and I shoved the rest back. He handed me a large purple cup, it tasted like heaven. My Uncle only ever let me have a treat on my birthday but never anything as nice as this. I curled up on one of the beds and fell asleep, pulling the clean, silk covers over my head.

'Kid wake up. This is your stop.' I rubbed my eyes and looked up forgetting where I was and came face to face with a with Stan.  
'AGGH!' I screamed and fell off the edge of the bed.  
'Clam down it's just me, we're here.' I nodded and untangled myself from the blankets. I grabbed my bag and tossed it over my shoulder and walked into the early morning light.


End file.
